Wednesday, 4 June 2014

Blogger Crowdfunds Legal Fees For Battle Against Singapore PM

Speaker Roy Ngerng, of online blog The Heart Truths, addresses the crowd during a protest against new licensing regulations imposed by the government for online news sites, at Hong Lim Park in Singapore June 8, 2013

A Singapore court has ordered a blogger to pay S$29,000 ($21,700) to Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as legal costs after Lee won a defamation case late last year.Lee won a High Court defamation case against blogger Roy Ngerng, 33, in November, the first time the city-state's leadersued an online critic.Ngerng was sued for his blog post in May when he was alleged to have implicated Lee in impropriety in connection with how funds in Singapore's mandatory retirement savings scheme, the Central Provident Fund(CPF), are managed.readmore

A Singapore blogger who faces a defamation lawsuit by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he raised more than S$70,000 ($55,700) in four days through crowdfunding to pay for his legal costs.Donations climbed to S$72,043.91 as of yesterday, exceeding his target of S$70,000, Roy Ngerng said in a blog post. Lee sued Ngerng over a May 15 article, and the blogger said his apology and offer of S$5,000 for damages were declined. Chang Li Lin, Lee’s press secretary, declined to comment about Ngerng’s funding efforts when contacted by phone.Ngerng’s case comes as the government grapples with how to regulate comments made online, with plans including the introduction of anti-harassment laws to curb cyber-bullying. More than a thousand people contributed to Ngerng’s appeal for funds for the first lawsuit of its kind by a Singapore politician against a blogger, according to his lawyer M. Ravi.

Blogger Roy Ngerng is drawing a lot of social hostility against the powerful ruling party. This anti-PAP sentiment has raised some $86,000 so far for his legal fees because of a defamation suit brought against him by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.Ngerng is so enjoying his international and local fame that Lee vs Roy merits comment simply for its political implications: put simply, Lee has used a sledge hammer to smack an ant.The blogger doesn’t expect he’ll win, going by his crowdfunding remark on his blog: “The actual amount of damages, which is separate from the legal fees I am trying to raise, will only be known after the court case is over.”read more

Roy and the Emperor’s Opaque clothesFrustrations are such that very few people have the ability to intellectually dissect and try to understand and come to terms with the exact source. If I have been feeling frustrated about one issue, it can very easily be morphed over into being a frustration about another issue. For some time now, Singaporeans have been troubled by transportation woes, rising property prices, rising cost of living, depression of wages, overcrowding and of course many of these frustrations have been channeled into being a general resentment of the government’s population policy.But there is a more fundamental sore point that haunts many Singaporeans. We don’t often articulate it as the single biggest issue. When you come to think of it, the issue surrounding CPF savings and the ability of Singaporeans to retire has been something that has troubled us long before immigration and overcrowding became issues.Many Singaporeans have a legitimate concern about the viability of the CPF system as a retirement plan. Personally, I don’t think I can retire comfortably with my CPF savings. I have to make other financial plans for retirement. If you are still in your 20s or 30s, you would be well advised to start early in saving and investing for your retirement. Don’t put it off till you are in your 40s or 50s. I believe that for the average Singaporean, the CPF savings and the amounts in Medisave will be insufficient for their retirement and medical needs.read morePM Lee vs Roy – A Contrarian ApproachFrom those who appear to be in the know of legal matters, at least 2 relevant points to bear in mind;One, there won’t be any discussions on the CPF issues. The defendant has already admitted guilt by way of his apology. Of course, Roy can still withdraw the apology and go the whole nine yards. But, what’s the point?Two, there is the possibility of the PM applying for a Mareva Injunction the way LKY did agst Tan Liang Hong. If so, Ravi his counsel may not get paid. Good chance Roy may still be made a bankrupt. Or his supporters poorer from another donation appeal – supporters who Roy wants to help get a better CPF deal. If so, what’s the point?read moreDo Netizens prefer Lee Hsien Loong or Roy Ngerng?On 15 May 2014, blogger Roy Ngerng accused Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of misappropriating CPF funds. The latter, in response, asked Roy to remove the post immediately, apologise, and give a written offer of damages and costs, or face legal action.Netizens responses were, not surprisingly, mixed. For instance, Online Citizen put up a citizen statement stating that the "threat of legal action is an oppressive tool with undue chilling effects on public discourse". In contrast, Sghardtruth wrote an article titled "To the youths: Blogger Roy Ngerng is NOT your hero".Using socialmention.com, I ran sentiment analyses on "Lee Hsien Loong" and "Roy Ngerng". Sentiment analysis measures "the attitude of a speaker or a writer with respect to some topic" (wiki).read moreIs PM Lee the Biggest Troll of Them All?

Years ago, the previous PMs went to bed greying their hair over penetrating issues such as how to make Singaporeans propagate but the current PM apparently, has other priorities. It is astonishing to watch how much time he has been spending thinking about how to develop its unique ways to keep online conduct "civil and constructive."

The cheapest solution to internet trolling is having a little sense of humor. Otherwise as we know it, life will be tough on the internet because it is so easy to get angry over remarks splashed on an individual, especially so if he or she is a public figure. Just ask Justin Bieber. When one gets flustered easily, everything can be offending and any remark can be used to sue. For instance, suing someone's pants off over the internet because he called you a pink fag without substantiation. The chap would, of course, be made a bankrupt because while he might be able to prove the pink fetish, he wouldn't be able to prove the fag was a fag. In such a case, the court may gives the plaintiff a clean name but it doesn't change what many think - that he is now a suing pink fag. Like it on not, that is how it works on the virtual world. The above is just an example. Any references to any non-frictional shady characters are unintended and coincidental.

Although trolling and flaming on the internet has potential to be damaging, it doesn't come close to trolling in real life. Take for example, when someone fucked up for a term or two, realised it too late and made a public apology at a CBD area a week before polling day, it might incite a giggle or two from the majority. However when he repeated his mistakes the apologised for, it wasn't funny anymore, even for those with a large capacity of humor.

A Singaporean blogger sued for damages by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday he had successfully raised fees for his legal defence in just four days through crowdfunding.Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, a government health worker who posts comments on social issues, said 1,104 people had so far contributed more than Sg$72,000 ($55,700), exceeding his target of Sg$70,000 when he launched the campaign Friday.

Ngerng published the transaction history of his bank account on his crowdfunding platform. Many of the donors registered comments criticising Lee and opposing the use of libel suits to silence government critics.

Singapore Blogger Tops Funding Goal to Defend Against Lee’s Suit“As far as I know, this is the first time a political leader in Singapore is suing a blogger,” Ravi said when contacted by phone today.Ngerng was asked to apologize to the prime minister and remove the article which “impugns his character, credit and integrity,” according to a copy of a letter by Davinder Singh, Lee’s lawyer, which was posted on Ngerng’s website on May 19.Ngerng’s apology wasn’t genuine and was instead used “to raise his public profile, garner support and sympathy and renew his attack” against Lee, according to a copy of another letter from Lee’s lawyer posted on Ngerng’s blog on May 26.read moreRoy hitting fund target makes international news

News of blogger Roy Ngerng raising $72K – exceeding his target of $70K – in a mere 4 days was picked up by international news wire AFP yesterday (2 Jun).

Roy is raising money for his legal defence. He is currently being sued by PM Lee for defamation, due to an article he posted on his blog The Heart Truths.

A Singaporean blogger sued for damages by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday he had successfully raised fees for his legal defence in just four days through crowdfunding. Roy Ngerng Yi Ling, a government health worker who posts comments on social issues, said 1,104 people had so far contributed more than Sg$72,000 ($55,700), exceeding his target of Sg$70,000 when he launched the campaign Friday

read moreRoy Ngerng's Legal Defense Fund reaches target of $70,000 in just 4 days as donations pour in from the public supporting his cause

read moreBlogger Roy Ngerng raises $70,000 in four days — Singaporeans stand with him

Over the past four days, Singaporeans demonstrated that they stood in solidarity with blogger Roy Ngerng, by donating slightly over $70,000 to him to help him defray legal and administrative costs associated with his upcoming lawsuit.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had initiated legal action against Roy over remarks that Roy had posted alleging that CPF monies held in member accounts had been criminally misappropriated.Mr Lee’s lawyer, Davinder Singh, had argued that Lee was now entitled to sue for aggravated damages because Roy’s initial apology had been “insincere”, and Roy had further aggravated the damage to Mr Lee’s reputation by sending two emails to various members of local and international media.read more